York School Hooks A Symbol

YORK — A Grafton High mother succeeds in landing a 4-ton, 14-foot-tall anchor on the campus.

Karen Tosten thought Grafton High School needed a solid symbol of school pride.

Something ship-related for the home of the Clippers. Something big. Something immovable.

Tosten's efforts led to the installation of a 4-ton, 14-foot-tall iron anchor, formerly part of the USS Courier, at the school. In the process, she enlisted the help of engineers, a crane and rigging company and a Boy Scout in search of an Eagle project.

Tosten, the mother of a current 11th-grader and a Grafton High graduate, said the project "just sort of snowballed."

A self-described band mom and volunteer, Tosten traces the start of the anchor saga to a discussion of school pride at a Parent Teacher Association meeting last year. Grafton Principal Stephanie Guy suggested that an anchor might be a good symbol, but no one knew how to get one, let alone how to get one to Grafton.

Tosten contacted the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration, which searched its records and found the massive artifact gathering dust in a warehouse in Chesapeake.

If Tosten was willing to complete the paperwork and become an "artifact recipient" and if the school would maintain the anchor, the maritime administration would offer it on long- term loan at no cost.

"They said they never want it back," Tosten said.

There remained the problem of getting the anchor from Chesapeake to the Grafton section of York County. Tosten enlisted the aid of the Newport News-based Hampton Roads Crane & Rigging, which agreed to move it at no cost.

She then turned to planting the anchor on the campus. She said her neighbor, engineer Robert Donze, helped design the frame. A York County building inspector made sure it "was up to standard."

Tosten thought site preparation would make a good Eagle Scout project. Grafton student John Paul Kostecki, now a 12th-grader, agreed. He considered several possibilities, but installing an anchor at his school had the most appeal.

"I didn't want it to be any typical project like building a playground," he said.

Kostecki, who goes by "J.P.," enlisted other scouts, who helped dig 4-foot-deep holes for the concrete and steel footings. As part of the project, Kostecki also helped install the frame and pour the footings.

He said the anchor makes the back of the school look more inviting.

"It's eye candy," he said.

Heavy, immovable eye candy. The anchor was welded to its steel frame.

"If anyone tries to back up and put a chain around that thing, they're going to leave behind part of their truck," Tosten said.

Hampton Roads Crane & Rigging brought the anchor to the school on a rainy day last summer. A plaque on the side of the anchor states it was installed June 14, but Tosten said the anchor actually arrived a few days earlier.

Tosten and Kostecki said the anchor was adopted by the students. And Kostecki said it has helped foster school pride. The Class of 2007 gathered around it for the official class picture.

For Tosten, it's a symbol of community cooperation and determination. Everyone donated time and services for the project. "I'm really proud of it," she said.

But one big visual symbol may not be enough for Grafton High. Tosten said she's thinking about finding a big ship's wheel for the inside of the school. *